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Workaholic Dad’s Emotional Letter After Finding Out His 8-Year-Old Son Died During A Conference Meeting
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Workaholic Dad’s Emotional Letter After Finding Out His 8-Year-Old Son Died During A Conference Meeting

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“Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.” These lyrics, probably best known from a classic The Specials cover, have a painful resonance for dad J.R Storment after the tragic passing of his son Wiley.

Image credits: J.R. Storment/Linkedin

A self-described “workaholic,” Storment is the co-founder of a company called Cloudability. He spent much of the previous eight years working late, overtime and shunning holidays, as he laid the foundations for a successful business.

However, all that success meant nothing after the realization that he had missed the vast majority of his precious son’s short, yet action-packed life. Full of regret, Storment took to LinkedIn to pen an emotional letter, urging parents to reassess their priorities, put family first and not make the same mistakes that he did.

Image credits: J.R. Storment/Facebook

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“A journal of Wiley’s we found the day after he died”

Image credits: J.R. Storment/Linkedin

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Image credits: J.R. Storment/Instagram

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Image credits: J.R. Storment/Linkedin

Heartbreaking words, that we would be wise to heed. You can also read Jessica’s letter here, also a  frank and honest account of the tragedy that urges a better work/life balance for everyone.

No parent should miss out on a single moment of those precious early childhood years unless it is strictly necessary!

Here’s what people had to say about the letter

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Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

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Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

James Caunt

James Caunt

Writer, Community member

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James is a Bored Panda reporter who graduated with a BA in Peace And Conflict Studies and an MA in African Affairs. Before Bored Panda, he was an English teacher and also travelled a lot, doing odd jobs from beer-slinging to brickie's labourer and freelance journalism along the way. James loves covering stories about social and environmental issues and prefers to highlight the positive things that unite us, rather than petty internet squabbles about fictional characters. James is the grumpy, contradictory one who thinks that Bored Panda, due to its large audience, has a social responsibility to inspire and inform its readers with interesting issues and entertaining, well-researched stories. Let's do our bit to make our little corner of the internet a smarter, more truthful and less angry place!

Read less »

James Caunt

James Caunt

Writer, Community member

James is a Bored Panda reporter who graduated with a BA in Peace And Conflict Studies and an MA in African Affairs. Before Bored Panda, he was an English teacher and also travelled a lot, doing odd jobs from beer-slinging to brickie's labourer and freelance journalism along the way. James loves covering stories about social and environmental issues and prefers to highlight the positive things that unite us, rather than petty internet squabbles about fictional characters. James is the grumpy, contradictory one who thinks that Bored Panda, due to its large audience, has a social responsibility to inspire and inform its readers with interesting issues and entertaining, well-researched stories. Let's do our bit to make our little corner of the internet a smarter, more truthful and less angry place!

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meinespammailadresse1 avatar
A B C
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow. I'm literally crying right now. Rest in peace, Wiley, and may your death be a lesson to many.

leodomitrix avatar
Leo Domitrix
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TELL PARENTS! When SUDEP claimed my sister many years ago, it was not yet named or recognized. She just somehow died of what never killed anyone. We were devastated. Two years later, SUDEP was acknowledged. TELL PARENTS SUDEP CAN HAPPEN and not just to juveniles. My sis was over 25. Thank you, and please be aware of both SUDEP and SEIZURE FIRST AID (patient on side, nothin gin mouth, keep head safe from hitting things, time seizure, note symptoms, and just always call 911 b/c you never know, okay?)... Peace.

leanne_jones avatar
Jonahs Mrs
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you for passing on this vital life saving information I'm just sorry and sad that we only know about it because of families who have had the worst happen to them. To reach out through your own devestating pain to help others in whatever way you can -sharing your story like Wileys parents or passing on information about a very little known but deadly condition as you have, shows the best of humanity is really out there. I hope you, your family and all those who loved your sister have managed to find some kind of peace in your lives x

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emaltd avatar
Ema LTD
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So sad for this family. But yeah, it's not a good advice for a struggling single parent. Maybe the lesson is - you can't have it all, so don't forget to enjoy yourself from time to time.

captaindash avatar
Full Name
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's the thing, it's easy to have a post be heartbreaking both ways (parents working too much or too little). Parents that don't (or can't) put in the time to amass some wealth will regret that they didn't give their child all the opportunities they could've and the poor kid had to sacrifice so much etc. This kid seemed to want to be just like dad which means dad was doing something right. Finding that happy medium is really tough.

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meinespammailadresse1 avatar
A B C
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow. I'm literally crying right now. Rest in peace, Wiley, and may your death be a lesson to many.

leodomitrix avatar
Leo Domitrix
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TELL PARENTS! When SUDEP claimed my sister many years ago, it was not yet named or recognized. She just somehow died of what never killed anyone. We were devastated. Two years later, SUDEP was acknowledged. TELL PARENTS SUDEP CAN HAPPEN and not just to juveniles. My sis was over 25. Thank you, and please be aware of both SUDEP and SEIZURE FIRST AID (patient on side, nothin gin mouth, keep head safe from hitting things, time seizure, note symptoms, and just always call 911 b/c you never know, okay?)... Peace.

leanne_jones avatar
Jonahs Mrs
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you for passing on this vital life saving information I'm just sorry and sad that we only know about it because of families who have had the worst happen to them. To reach out through your own devestating pain to help others in whatever way you can -sharing your story like Wileys parents or passing on information about a very little known but deadly condition as you have, shows the best of humanity is really out there. I hope you, your family and all those who loved your sister have managed to find some kind of peace in your lives x

Load More Replies...
emaltd avatar
Ema LTD
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So sad for this family. But yeah, it's not a good advice for a struggling single parent. Maybe the lesson is - you can't have it all, so don't forget to enjoy yourself from time to time.

captaindash avatar
Full Name
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's the thing, it's easy to have a post be heartbreaking both ways (parents working too much or too little). Parents that don't (or can't) put in the time to amass some wealth will regret that they didn't give their child all the opportunities they could've and the poor kid had to sacrifice so much etc. This kid seemed to want to be just like dad which means dad was doing something right. Finding that happy medium is really tough.

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
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